Downtown Cedar Rapids Flood 2008

[kly445]

That flood scarred so many, and thanks a lot! Now I have a fear of floods :P!~

[rspj123]

That was the WORST flood ever!

[irondawg02]

i am thinking that altho i yet some of my family got stuck with the shit ..... if you take video .... dont drink a crap load of coffee .....makes it hard to see what you are shooting

[tinkfreak187]

this was so devistating! my g-ma was right across the birdge and she almost got hit! but thankfully she didnt!

[XmteeX]

yeah i was theree.

[margravesr]

I saw lots of meath heads people their in CEDAR RAPIDS IOWA CUTE WHITE GIRLS THEIR TEETH 100% gone can any one look in to this problem their; all this PUSSY GOING TO WASTE: sad but true;the MICHIGAN WOMEN ARE VERY BEATIFUL IN ANN ARBOR MICH

[BrutalNoodle]

There, their & they're are such tricky words for the ignorant. What's worse, a "meath" user or an illiterate halfwit?

[margravesr]

the church MISSION OF HOPE is not right; location 1537 1st ave se cedar rapids IOWA: they house 35 mexicans 60 day long; also charge people $5.00 per day to stay their; also getting money from RED CROSS to house flood victims, which did not happen double dipping funds THIS was 100% wrong i wish some one would look in to this gover ment; laws; shelters are free??? or what.

[margravesr]

Hello i was their in cedar rapids iowa; work 1 month' lots of people lost all things; the churches their are a joke; do not want to help volunteers workers that work from out of state; iam one only groupes will they help; the churches want money fema funds only!!!!it sad but true i need help please call me 319-929-9005 thanks robert margraves

[margravesr]

any one what to help me out when i come their to work; i know nothing about CEDAR RAPIDS IOWA: call me at 734-660-0393 i will be their to work 7 days a week; thanks again. Robert margraves ann,arbor michigan we are good people; here in this state;

[mo0929]

Well...At least we now have something that smells worse than Cargill and Quaker. : )

[BrutalNoodle]

Yeah, gotta find something to laugh at in shit like this. My old office made Quaker actually smell good!

[rmirpuri]

KARMA

[BrutalNoodle]

Explain that one, plz.

[margravesr]

karma = what lots of people lost all things in CEDAR RAPIDS" IOWA"i was their; iam a true person i spent $400.00 of my own money to come their and work free, cleaning out houses; with thje church; iam a union carpenter looking for work asap; their; iowa city also got flood very bad; iam looking for work asap; call me 319-929-9005 thanks robert margraves

[PhuckstickMcGee]

Why is this flood not Bush's fault?

[BrutalNoodle]

Haven't you been reading the thread? It's already been established that homosexuals & atheists caused the flood.

[margravesr]

not really their is bad people every where; GEORGE BUSH SHOULD HELP all people for housings also VOLUNTEERS WORKERS LIKE ME THAT work free!!! from far a way; usa. wake up; please;

[broadwaycutie13]

how could it be Bush's fault. did he magically pour all this water on us?!?!?!?!?!?! yeah nice one!

[Tiffany7002]

poor Cedar Rapidss..

my daddy has a route that goes through there because he is a tool man and he has lost so much money because he cant get throughhh.

tearr.

[mbamatt]

Where are the looters? Oh yeah that was New Orleans.

[BrutalNoodle]

Other than a couple of morons who were stupid enough to swipe some furniture that had been submersed in sewer water, I haven't seen any looting.

[mastermike2580]

anyone wanna go for a swim?

[donroyer]

To my good Friend Brutal.

I'm truly ssorry for the loss of the company.

My heart and prayers are with my family and friends still in CR and the rest of Iowa. A great community will overcome.

[BrutalNoodle]

Thx Don, I appreciate it.

[cool3929]

It will take a long time to fix the damage done but things always get better!

[garycalgary]

i don't hear the horror stories like New Orleans thus far.

I realize it's a smaller community but 100 000 people must have massive difficulty finding shelter and food

i don't know what to say really because the flooding is so huge

[donroyer]

Why would you want to hear horror stories MEATHEAD?

[BrutalNoodle]

My father & I own/operate C.R. Glass Co which is currently under water & as soon as the water recedes, we WILL get back in there & rebuild!! This is a challenging time for all of us here but I have no doubt that we'll come together & get our city back on its feet.

[rrgraham179]

Have empathy, disaster could strike any city at any time. I bet the people here didn't see this coming.

[MarsSentinel]

The poor man built his house upon the sand. They always rebuild on the banks in South Carolina after a hurricane. This will be rebuilt at great expense and with much fighting over who gets richer and who gets screwed.

[Onieroz]

One more thing, there's going to be a lot of mental illness coming out of this one with people grieving their losses. Red Cross will need to bring in psychologists and spiritual counselors to deal with "the Cedar Creek Flood" as one national network called it. I will pray long and hard, and send lots of light in meditation for those whose lives have been shifted. If people in CR draw upon their Iowan tenacity, CR will become a better city because of this. May the Divine bless their efforts.

[Onieroz]

One good thing...this'll put CR on the map. Americans can't even distinguish Iowa from Ohio. To them, food just appears on the grocery shelves. This is a billion-dollar disaster which will be felt in every corner of the US; esp. when food prices mount up. NPR interviewing FEMA officials: "We're stretched thin, hurricane season coming, not much we can do, stutter stutter." People don't give a **** about the Midwest; it's not even part of their 'world' or their 'American mindset'.

[ubanker]

You're absolutely right. Asking people to take pictures of their losses & keep receipts is a joke. We all know how FEMA handled Hurricane Katrina, so what's so different about CR besides putting us on the map to our fellow Americans to recognize that we exist. However, we are fortunate to have such a strong community that no one else has. We will rise above this disaster. We have faith and we have each other. God Bless.

[Onieroz]

Immediately after Katrina, there were PSA-type TV ads asking for donations. Haven't seen a thing here in Bananaland. The poor haven't been mentioned once in the news; just homeowners and business owners, as if the poor conveniently don't exist in CR. People who lost a home are lucky, at least they had one to lose. Sluggish response, even slower than Katrina. Ready for your FEMA trailers? Interesting hearing how the insurance companies are planning to dodge their responsibility on this one.

[anhacus]

No one is going to invest in downtown Cedar Rapids because of the fear of future flooding. That means it's a dead zone. I don't think the Federal government will assist in building an enormous seawall. It would cost billions.

[koochka]

I really hope that people don't overreact and keep the downtown area empty. This is by far the worse it has ever been and remember that the likliness of this happening again is probably be very unlikely. However I was apalled to hear that most of the people didn't have flood insurance where they lived within 2 or 3 blocks of the river. Amazing.

[anhacus]

Big trouble for the uninsured, unless the Feds bail them out. This is a nice affordable small city, but the administrators are going to have to take a hard look to calculate future disasters. A seawall? I don't know. Awfully expensive. Maybe turn downtown into a giant park, and move everything North.

[ubanker]

Cedar Rapids is proud of its people and community. Its people will build it and invest in it. We are not Louisiana. We are blessed to have such a strong bond and loyal community. Cedar Rapids will live, rise, & prosper again.

[anhacus]

I hope you're right. I like Cedar Rapids. The only thing I don't like is the filthy stench coming from ADM Cargill. That stench would not fly on the coasts. They would either force them to close or move far enough away from the population. Why don't they move that factory 40 or 50 miles from here? The EPA is in the process of tightening air quality standards in this area.

[AsphaltAbuse]

The city grew upon companies like ADM, Cargill, Penford, and Quaker. To force the companies to move properties worth hundreds of millions of dollars is to stab them in the back for creating thousands of jobs that brought people to the city for the 1960s-70s boom in the first place.

[anhacus]

I understand. However, the air around here would be sweet if it weren't for these companies. Well, maybe Cargill can place special steam diffusers on their smoke stacks to minimize the harshness of that burnt corn odor. They process ethanol, correct? That's the only odor that bothers me, and I think it makes me feel dizzy at times. Is that possible? Thanks.

[AsphaltAbuse]

The EPA can/will likely tighten air standards, but the air in Cedar Rapids is actually really clean (minus the smell), and you'll never see any smog. Fact is most people in CR grew up there and know where they live in relation to the smells. It's just a matter of knowing the area before you get into a property deal. If people are willing to buy/rent somewhere that extends their commute a mere 5 extra miles they'll never live by the smell. Don't blame the businesses that created the city.

[anhacus]

Thank-you for the information. Did you know the Chamber of Commerce is sending leaflets out to the coasts to try to bring people to live here? I've met a lot of very nice open-minded people, but I've also detected an element that wants nothing to do with outsiders. I suppose it's like that wherever you go.

[ubanker]

Cedar Rapids is a safe town for families. As for the smell, it's not as bad as it is on your first visit. ADM Cargill employees thousands of employees. Moving it will destroy many homes financially. All the big companies we have, make up the enconomy in our town. Moving them or even closing would be a silent damage to the people and community.

[anhacus]

I didn't realize they employed that many people. Thanks for your explanation. There exists steam diffuser technology that eliminates various pollutants and odors. When the EPA tightens air regulations, which they are scheduled to do for Iowa, companies may find it the most efficacious and inexpensive remedy. It's been utilized on the coasts, especially with anthracite burners. Thanks again.

[margravesr]

I beleive also, iam Robert margraves from ann arbor michigan,i will be their soon to do volunteer,work. 2,3 weeks cleaning,demolation work. dry wall work; my prayers go out to all;President.GEORGE W, BUSH should help 100% all people their;i was told people that come their to work; have no where to stay;good old usa.again.all our money going to IRAQ;for the war;ASlo usa rebuilding their country; its not right;iam a usa citizen. Iam a veteran. also; what wrong with our GOVERMENT.

[bryan1097]

That's amazing! The Cedar River's flood stage in Cedar Rapids is 12 feet. The major flooding stage is at 16 feet. The previous record stage was 20.0 feet on 6/1/1851. The river crested at 31.12 feet last night and is still at 30.41 feet. That's 11 feet higher than the previous record! That's crazy.

[JohnnyMierville]

i live in strawberry point which is about 60 miles north of cedar rapids and i have relatives that live there but they didnot get hit, elkader which is about 15 miles north of straw. point and there under water too. theres not as many peeps in elkadar as there is c.r. this is all over our local news, like 9, 7, and 2, so this is all i've been hearing about. the is really bad, this is history people, history...

[pamelakrier]

I have family that used to live up in Strawberry Point ... what a small world. Is there any flooding up there?

[JohnnyMierville]

not in strawberry but there is in lamont, peeps basements r flooding 2

[purpleknightmom]

I am from New Orleans, heart goes out to each and every one of you. I am sending what I can to help those that I can. I KNOW this is awful, I know if seems hopeless to so many but you all will get through this. My deepest prayers are with you all.

[MarsSentinel]

WTF is a "deep" prayer? People pray for a man and he dies. Don't pray, send life jackets.

[anhacus]

Yes, You're absolutely right. Send life jackets, food, water, and money. This is the richest Country in the world. We don't want to hear any nonsense.

[aej44]

I live in Cedar Rapids and all of the flooding is terrible! some people have homes underwater...some people were told to leave so fast that they didnt even get to take anything...My friend has lost everything is this awful disaster...Please keep all iowans in your prayers! its is going to take a long time to rebuild our city... :(

[KQUINN4]

I used to live in Cedar Rapids,and hy heart goes out to all of you,I will keep you in my prayers.

[N8cooper]

I've been housing local red cross and FEMA workers and they said in all of the floods they've seen the one in Cedar Rapids is the worst. They don't know how Cedar Rapids is going to recuperate from this.

[MadamRay]

I live right on the river in a high rise. We were evacuated yesterday and are told we cant come back for atleast 10 days because of potential structural damages. it's not fun

[BrutalNoodle]

I feel for you, that's awful. My office is on the corner of 3rd st & 8th ave. We lost everything. I went down Thurs morning to see if I could salvage anything but it was hopeless.

[Kaw901]

Its a bad flood the cedar river is way high. There a .2% this happens in 500 years

[akljflskjdf]

i live in Iowa (cedar rapids is in iowa) and everything is flooded. I was going to go to an I-Cubs baseball game today but the ballpark is almost completely surrounded by water so it got cancelled.